Frugal Gardening 2012: Sprouts Edition

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was busy preparing for garden season 2012. I had planted seeds in starting pots and was eagerly waiting for them to get bigger. Over the last few weeks they sure have grown! If you ever think that plants grow slowly, take a vacation in Texas for a week and see what they are like when you come home.

I tried to protect the precious seedlings from our week long vacation. The attempts produced mixed results, but in the end the news paper seed pots stayed moist enough that the seedlings survived. It is so important for the seedlings to have ideal conditions starting out.

This week we are starting to think about planting outdoors. It will be about a month before it is a good idea to plant outside. The mid-Atlantic region has had such a mild winter that I am a little concerned about summer arriving earlier than normal. I want to be sure to get the cool weather crops in early so that even if the weather turns extra hot this summer I will still get some spring lettuce, chard and maybe some beans.

Starting a garden in the spring is a lot of work. There is seed starting, weeding, tilling and planting to worry about. I am so excited to have warm weather and spring blooms, and a hope of a summer growing season that it doesn’t feel like work.

Planning a garden every spring is an important step. It is also really fun to think about all the different things that can be grown. Here is my map of what we planned to plant last year:

2011 Garden Plot:

This year we plan to make a few changes to the space. Our garden plot is part of a community garden space (more on community gardens here…). We have a different plot this year with some preexisting raised beds to work with. All said and done this years plan looks a little different from last year.

2012 Garden Plot:

There is still an empty spot with which my husband and I are trying to decide what to do. I will be back in the future with further updates, but this is what I am thinking for now.